Archive of Our Own

If you’ve been a member of the Wizarding community for the past five years, you’ve no doubt heard the name said from time to time, sometimes in tones of awe, sometimes tones of skepticism or downright derision: Seeking the Ghost, or: the latest pop indie group sweeping the nation.

Founded sometime in the late 2010s or early 2020s, with their first debut album hitting the stores in 2023, Seeking the Ghost has been on the tips of tongues of those in the industry nonstop since then, especially on the heels of their American tour this past year. Back in the UK now, the group is staging another tour for the end of 2028 and beginning of 2029, when they will hit Diagon Alley’s hippest venue The Phoenix and the Godric Hollow institution The Invisible Room, amongst other to-be-determined locales.

While most think that lead singer and pianist Albus Potter is the main attraction of this pop trio, vocalist and guitar and bass player Scorpius Malfoy has attained quite the following, not to mention the quirky appeal of percussionist Jordan Powell.

Although critics of the band initially scorned their success, thinking that their popularity stemmed more from the symbolic nature of the creative union between the son of the Chosen One and the son of a former Death Eater, the sheer talent and energy of the group has silenced all but the harshest of skeptics. They radiate raw talent as Potter plays around on the keyboard, riffing at the drop of a hat, weaving sophisticated melodies beneath it all. Malfoy’s bass and guitar backings provide a fun, creative edge, while Powell’s impressive rhythm keeps the music going as they switch from percussive instrument to instrument.

To attend a Seeking the Ghost concert is to see pure joy manifest: at times, it feels like an ode to the audience, as the members share wacky anecdotes and invite fans to sing along, but at others, a private musical conversation between Malfoy and Potter, who feed off of each other’s energy as they twine guitar and keyboard melodies together.

Potter’s charisma seeps throughout their shows, as he transforms the music into an art. It’s hard to look away from his piano playing, not to mention how he somehow dances and moves to the notes while keeping his intricate fingerings going. Malfoy, the least dramatic of the trio, seems to enjoy watching his bandmates, laughing along to their antics and encouraging them. Powell has their own brand of kooky presence, twirling drumsticks and throwing them away as they switch to new instruments: they apparently keep a bag of twenty sticks beside them, allowing them to perform their theatrics and stick to the music at once.

The band was formed at some point in the trio’s Hogwarts career– none seem too clear on when they officially came together. Graduating in 2023, the three met the first day of school, when they were all sorted into Hufflepuff. While Malfoy and Potter became fast friends, Powell only came onto the scene later. The dynamic of Malfoy and Potter, best friends for more than ten years, only fuels the intensity of the band’s music.

Their following has grown significantly over the years, from the hipster music scene fanatics to the general populous, attracting significant attention from teenage girls, many of whom find the “hot” band irresistible. The group appeals to more than just teens, however, and their concerts bring together an odd collection of graduates, young professionals, and students who’ve snuck away for the weekend. Younger parents can be seen, nodding along to the catchy beats, while their teenage kids are equally invested.

Outside of their music, the group has garnered attention for their political presence and endorsements. Powell has become a leading figure in the LGBTQA+ community as a nonbinary activist, while Malfoy and Potter work closely with Minister Shacklebolt to help engage young citizens in political processes.

Their songs cover expansive topics, from heartfelt breakup songs, to lamenting the reality of adulthood, to struggling with identity, to reminiscing about the Hogwarts kitchens– but the upbeat, energetic tone throughout forms a cohesive sound that will no doubt bring all listeners into the trio’s engaging world.

No matter who you are, or where you’re coming from, I highly encourage you to buy the next tickets you can to the upcoming Seeking the Ghost tour– it won’t disappoint.

Scorpius hated being predictable, he really did. If there’s anything in this life he’d like to avoid, it’s being predictable.

(Either that, or becoming a major criminal, but it was something of a tough call.)

Scorpius liked to do everything he could to subvert expectations. He’d been Sorted into Hufflepuff, for Merlin’s sake! Then there were the small things in life, like the beard (or fuzz, as Al liked to call it), going against the Malfoy expectations of clean shavenness, which his father had actually lectured him on once. (Scorpius really thought his dad was mostly jealous that Scorpius could even grow a beard in the first place.)

And even when Scorpius had become a musician rather than a respected politician or lawyer or Ministry employee, he hadn’t become some angsty, punk rebellious musician– he played guitar and bass for an indie pop band. They had a breakup song in A major, so suck that, world-that-expected-him-to-be-some-emo-kid.

This was part of what made it especially vexing that Scorpius Malfoy was in love with his best friend.

It was not the entirety of what made it so irritating– no, it wasn’t even half of it, to be honest, because as much fun as it was to make people’s eyes widen with surprise when they realized who he was and what he did, that was not the motivating force behind his life.

What made it so frustrating was a complex list, something that grew daily and was entirely outside of his control. If he had to write it down, it may look something like:

Then again, maybe it did come back to the fact that Scorpius really, really hated becoming predictable.

When I go to upstart Diagon Alley cafe Beside the Point, I am beyond nervous to meet the members of one of my favourite bands. With my notepad firmly underarm, I brave the snow to learn more about the elusive stars behind hits such as “Oh, Ophelia,” “Where Are All the Alchemists Now?” and “Jinx to the Heart,” only to discover that these pop stars have not let the fame get to their heads: they remain charming, funny, and kind, and it is a pleasure to sit and chat with them for several hours.

When I arrive, I find the trio looking exactly as they do at their concerts. Scorpius Malfoy wears a casual striped T shirt and cuffed jeans, his Vans and colourful socks poking out from underneath, while Al Potter wears his classic short sleeve button up and dark jeans. Jordan Powell, the most out there of the group, has their long hair dyed purple, and wears pants to match, offsetting their polka dot T shirt.

I can immediately tell that, above all, these three are great friends: they can't keep a straight face throughout the interview, constantly cracking into laughter and referencing their numerous inside jokes. Potter is the most talkative, while Malfoy seems happy to chime in now and then with his own thoughts and Powell is almost zoned out but for their occasional long, rambling anecdote.

I start the interview off easy: “What’s the story behind the name?”

The three swap sheepish grins, Malfoy and Potter exchanging a silent conversation before Potter sighs.

“We were all in Hufflepuff together, you know,” he starts, fiddling with his napkin to avoid eye contact. “And none of us really understood Quidditch?” Upon seeing my shocked reaction, he nods with another sheepish grin.

“Yes, I know my mum and brother have played professionally. I’ve just never really got the point? And so Scorp and I started this tradition, that whenever there was a Quidditch game, we’d have a competition to see who could find and talk to the most ghosts during it. Then we wanted to tie it into Quidditch, and we knew somebody was called the Seeker, and here we are!”

Malfoy nods along. “It was kind of a competition, but mostly we ended up getting to know the ghosts really well, so there were never any losers.”

Potter laughs. “Although I do think the Bloody Baron wouldn’t really agree with that statement...”

The two dissolve into giggles, trying to explain some run-in they had with the terrifying House ghost of Slytherin, before abandoning the effort.

“Jordan joined us when we all became friends in fourth year,” Malfoy adds, when they’ve regained some composure. Powell nods along. “And we kind of panic named ourselves, but we wanted something with some history, something that mattered to us. Only afterwards did we realize that we were also publicizing our complete lack of understanding when it comes to sports.”

The conversation continues along the same vein, as they relive their favourite concerts (all three pick their first concert on Diagon Alley, but for different reasons: Potter, because his whole family could attend for the first time; Malfoy, because it was the first time they performed one of his songs; Powell, because that was the night they met their now-girlfriend), crazy fan experiences (Potter: “It’s always a bit overwhelming when girls start trying to throw their shirts on stage...”), and plans for the future (they hope to publish their third album in 2029).

When asked about inspirations for their songs, Malfoy smirks at Potter, who looks blushingly towards his hands. Surprising though it may be, renowned hottie Potter seems humble and easily embarrassed, even despite his evident charisma and charm.

“Al gets most of his inspiration from his flavour of the week,” Malfoy chuckles. Powell nods along, while Potter makes a weak protest.

“Bit of a heartthrob, Al?” I ask, and his blush deepens.

“It’s not that!” he disagrees, back to fiddling with his napkin. “It’s just that I get invested in relationships quite easily, but it’s hard to work around my crazy schedule and they don’t usually work out. I’m single now.”

“I’m not complaining,” Malfoy says lightly, still smirking at Potter. “We get about half our songs out of a heartbroken Al.”

“What about you, Scorpius?” I ask. The blonde guitarist shrugs, unabashed.

“I get it from all over,” he replies. “Some from things I see or feel, some from other art that touches me. “Oh, Ophelia” is inspired by Hamlet, for instance, but...”The Greatest Unknown” is about my own life, I guess.”

Potter frowns, about to ask something, when Powell chimes in.

“I like to use real world events and tragedies to move my music,” they explain, “but I also make a point of interweaving my own experiences. I’ve had a lot of younger people who are questioning their own experiences and feelings tell me that our music has helped them, and that means the world to me.”

“And where did you all first start your music and know that’s what you wanted to do?”

“I’ve just...always known,” Powell shrugs. “I’ve been tapping out rhythms as long as I’ve been moving my hands, so my parents helped me get started on the drums at a pretty young age. My music used to be more punk, but these two have gotten me onto more upbeat stuff.”

“Yeah, I was always singing as a kid, so my parents thought I should learn the piano,” Potter explains. “Then I got into guitar, bass, drums, even flute...but the piano was always calling me back, and that's what I've had the most experience with. When all three of us came together, by fifth year, we were always going to try our luck out as real musicians.”

“It was actually Al who helped me learn bass,” Malfoy admits, smiling at his friend. “But my parents had me take piano lessons as a kid, and my piano teacher got me started on guitar as well.”

Stay tuned next week for more behind the scenes of Seeking the Ghost, where you’ll learn about their initial ups and downs as a group, what helped them get through it all, and what makes a concert great.

Scorpius met Albus Potter on the first day of Hogwarts. He’d been something of a nervous wreck all day; he had no idea what was going to happen when the famous Sorting Hat finally hit his blonde hair. Would he be sent straight to Slytherin? Would it laugh when Scorpius asked it to?

Did Scorpius even want to be in Slytherin?

His father had told him that he would love him, no matter where he ended up, but Scorpius could sometimes read through his words and see what was lying beneath. Draco would be proudest if his son followed in his footsteps and stuck to the family tradition.

But Scorpius was feeling something he couldn’t exactly name, something he would identify years later as fuck that. Why should he choose something like that to make his dad happy? There’s no way Scorpius was Slytherin all on his own.

On the train, Scorpius kept to himself, staring morosely out of the window and trying to think of songs to keep his mind off of what was to come. He caught himself humming a few times, and couldn’t quite bring himself to care that he was probably coming off as insane to the other occupants of his train car.

It was a blur of crowds, and boats, and an enormous but friendly man, and candles and impossible ceilings and a singing hat, and suddenly:

“Another Malfoy, eh? But different from your forefathers...you could do in Slytherin, you know...or even Ravenclaw, quite the crafty mind you’ve got there. But more than that, a loyalty, an earnest desire to earn your place, a kindness– best be...HUFFLEPUFF!”

It would take Scorpius a few months to really embrace his House, and the first thoughts that filled his mind were what even is a Hufflepuff and oh my Merlin what is happening and I hope Dad was serious about his offer of unconditional love.

Another boy sat next to him at some point during the Sorting, but Scorpius was more engrossed in frantic introspection. Finally, food appeared, and he almost toppled over in surprise. The boy next him nudged him, offering a friendly grin, and Scorpius was immediately drawn into his sparkling green eyes.

“Hey, don’t look so glum!” the other boy chirped as he filled his plate with more food than a tiny boy like him should be able to handle. “Hufflepuff isn’t what I expected either, but it’s a nice enough place. Besides, isn’t it incredible to be at Hogwarts?”

Scorpius nodded meekly. The other boy perked up.

“I’m Albus Severus Potter, by the way,” he said, offering a hand to Scorpius. They shook hands, weirdly formal for the setting. “But you can and should call me Al.”

“I’m Scorpius,” Scorpius replied. “And it’s not like I think Hufflepuff is bad or anything. Just surprising.”

“Yeah, my best friend was Sorted into Ravenclaw,” Al sighed before smiling brightly once more. “But you can be my new best friend, if you’d like.”

“I’d like that,” he agreed, and they’d never really looked back from there.

It wasn’t until a few months into the year that they discovered their mutual love of music, and a few months after that that they finally found the Room of Requirement, where they could practice whenever they liked, where they came to all but live as they played and played and wrote and laughed.

They grew into Hufflepuff, or maybe Hufflepuff grew into them– but neither could imagine a different or better home.

At some point, around fourth year, Scorpius had a terrible, terrible realization when Al started talking about how hot Sophia Anderson had become over the summer, and how he was going to ask her out, but mostly her blue eyes really inspired him to write a tune about different blues and the things they represented–

By age fourteen, Scorpius had fallen hard, and there didn’t seem to be any way to get back up.

After months of tempting the public with hints about their upcoming tour, the hit band Seeking the Ghost has announced their full tour dates. They’ll start at the Phoenix in Diagon Alley on December 2nd, and finish in Dublin on February 5th, stopping in Godric’s Hollow, Hogsmeade, Holyhead, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, and twenty other UK and Irish cities along the way.

“I’m so excited that they’ve come back to the UK,” enthused Jessica Tyler, head of the Seeking the Ghost fan club of Hogwarts. “I wasn’t old enough to go to Hogsmeade last time they came by, but now I get to see them all for myself. Maybe I’ll finally figure out if I’m more of a Scorp or an Al girl– they’re just both so dishy!”

Other fans are excited to see what they learned after a year in the States– apparently their concerts there featured increased lights displays, and they’re excited to incorporate these into their homecoming performances.

“I heard in Chicago they each cast these awesome spells so that the lights changed colours throughout the songs,” gushed Robert O’Leary, resident of Diagon Alley and self-proclaimed enthusiast of the band. “I can’t wait to see what they do at The Phoenix.”

Whatever their main appeal may be, this tour is sure to energize fans and convert new ones. Tickets will go on sale in one week’s time, and you can find the complete tour schedule below.

“Here’s what I was thinking,” Al announced as he entered the room, spinning his wand around absent-mindedly. Scorpius looked up from the book he was reading (From the Weird Sisters to ACCIO!: A History of Wizarding Bands of the Late 20th Century), watching his best friend cross the room in quick, excited steps. He plopped down on the couch beside Scorpius, a little closer than custom would usually dictate, and Scorpius was simultaneously elated and depressed.

“We never really play our older songs anymore, you know?”

“There’s a reason for that, buddy,” Scorpius replied, raising a skeptical brow and scratching at his chin. Sometimes it disoriented even him to find hair there, but he thought it added a lot to his image.

Hufflepuffs and pop indie musicians though they may be, Scorpius hoped that they all kept a certain edge to their aesthetic. Then again, thinking back to some of the borderline-hysterical girls at their concerts in the States, maybe a little less of an aesthetic would help them out a bit.

“No, I think people like the throwback!” Al disagreed, pouting slightly. Scorpius suppressed a fond smile as he watched him. “What if we made a wheel with a bunch of different songs on it, and we play whatever it lands on? Then we could mix it up, add some excitement, and people might find it fun.”

Scorpius paused.

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” he said hesitantly. He brightened as another thought occurred to him. “We could even add in some funny things we could do, like switch instruments or get a certain audience member to pick the song.”

Al nodded eagerly, the sparkle Scorpius knew only too well lighting up in his eye. “You’re a genius! I’ll go jot down some songs that we could use later. Now I’ve gotta get ready for my date.”

“Seeing Alex again?” Scorpius asked, turning back to his book and firmly ignoring the twinge in his chest because he was not a pathetic fourteen-year-old and stop it, Brain, he would not be writing an angsty song about this later.

“Yep!” Al nodded, smiling brightly. He looked down at his shirt, a blue button down with little white dots, and straightened it. “Is this shirt good, you think?”

Scorpius looked up, aiming for a brief once over but almost getting sucked into staring at Al’s annoyingly tantalizing low jeans, his slender fingers, his carefully picked out socks. Scorpius nodded, forcing himself to turn back to his book.

“Thanks!”

A moment later, Scorpius could hear the bathroom door closing, and Scorpius dropped his book down. He ran his hands over his face, letting himself keep his eyes covered for a moment. There’s a reason that Hat didn’t mention Gryffindor, he thought to himself, dropping his hands and tipping his head back against the couch.

“Don’t wait up!” Al called a few minutes later, followed closely by the slamming of the front door, and Scorpius let out a deep sigh. He stared at the boring, blank ceiling for another long moment before shaking himself out of it. Leaving his book behind on the couch, he rose and stretched out. Sitting in the same position for hours was not the best decision he’d ever made.

He wandered aimlessly through the flat, looking into his room and finding nothing exciting amidst the helpless clutter, the collections of records and random lyrics he’d jotted down and thrown around. In the kitchen he bored-ate a few chips before rolling his eyes at himself. Why was he delaying the inevitable?

He opened the door to the music room with more confidence than he usually had, holding on to the assurance that Al wouldn’t be back for a long while yet.

He picked up his favourite guitar and fooled around for a while, covering The Weird Sisters and some of his earlier songs before getting to work. The fingerings came naturally to him, crescendos and decrescendos, a light number that didn’t really fit what he thought the words really meant.

maybe the sky isn’t really falling
maybe it’s all in my head...

“It’s just...don’t you think you should try to move on?”

Scorpius chuckled darkly, his grey eyes still focused on the barely-visible ceiling above him.

“Don’t laugh at me! It’s a serious suggestion!”

Scorpius leaned forward languidly, lazily, fixing Felicity with a sarcastic smile.

“Oh! Just move on! Why haven’t I thought of that in the seven years I’ve been in love with him?” He hit himself on the forehead, ignoring Felicity’s protests. “Just move on! Duh!”

“Scorpius, don’t be a dick,” she huffed, crossing her arms and glancing across the room. Al was talking to Jordan, laughing hysterically at some joke, and the flashing lights did little to obscure him from Scorpius. Scorpius could probably draw him with his eyes closed, could trace the contours of his muscles and his eternally messy hair and his bright emerald eyes–

“Felicity, don’t you think I’ve tried to move on?”

“Nope,” she replied bluntly. Scorpius glared, but she was unmoved. “I really don’t! You never go out with anybody, and I’ve never seen you even check out another guy.”

“I don’t even know that I’m gay,” Scorpius groaned, falling back against the couch and trying to ignore the terrible music. Why had they even come to this party? It was some dingy garage, with cheap beer and shit music, and he didn’t even know anybody. It was probably Al’s idea. “I think I’m just like...Al-sexual.”

“Oh, Scorp,” she sighed, frowning pityingly up at him.

“It’s fine,” Scorpius shrugged. “I’m an artist, so it’s good to be eternally angsty, right? Jordan’s barely written anything since you two got together. I can just...channel the constant disappointment or something.”

“Honey...”

Felicity threw an arm around Scorpius, leaning against him and closing her eyes. She smelled like flowers and sweat and beer as he rested his head atop her hair and gazed at Al.

Scorpius hated pre-gig jitters, even after touring for three years. They’d performed in the US, in Belgium, in France and Germany and Sweden and even accidentally ended up in Canada– but there was still an unsettled feeling deep in his sternum as he paced around the room, thinking through the chord progressions and the lyrics that he’d sung a thousand times and the lights and yelling and the indescribable, the incomparable rush–

“Dude, can you sit down? You’re stressing me out.”

Scorpius turned to find Jordan staring at him, their now-blue hair half spiked up, half hanging down. Their brown eyes were fixed on Scorpius as he crossed to the table and joined his bandmate.

“Sorry. You know how it is.”

Jordan grinned suddenly, throwing an arm around Scorpius. “Didn’t you miss this? We haven’t had a show in months! I’m so amped.”

Scorpius nodded as noncommittally as one can nod. “I’ve been working on a new song, by the way, so maybe we could go over drums for it sometime– you know how shit I am with the notation–”

“Get ready, guys!” Al suddenly announced, poking his head into the room where Scorpius and Jordan sat. “We’ll be out to start the transition in two.”

Scorpius jumped to his feet, jitters in full force, and joined Al by the door. Al grinned at him, his dimples emerging and his scruff looking so soft that Scorpius could just about reach out and touch it–

“I’m so excited about the wheel idea, man,” Al told him. “Alex agreed that it sounds wicked. Also, The Phoenix is always the best.”

Scorpius tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

“Is Alex here tonight?”

Al nodded eagerly. “Hopefully he’s out front row, but we’ll see when we get there.”

Everything in Scorpius’s mind ground to a halt.

He.

Al had definitely said he.

Alex.

Gender neutral name.

He.

Al had been dating a guy for two whole weeks and Scorpius hadn’t even realized it.

When did he let his self-protection instincts, his own selfish need to keep Al at an arm's length, make him start to shirk his best friend duties?

“Scorp, you ok?” Al’s voice broke through Scorpius’s internal panic, and he nodded as reassuringly as he could.

“Pre-gig jitters,” Jordan commented, clapping a hand to Scorpius’s shoulder. “You know how he is.”

“You’ll be brilliant, just like always,” Al told him, eyes intensely serious and he was dating a guy and did Scorpius actually have a chance or was this a phase and oh shit he was about to perform and even if he likes guys it doesn’t mean that it’s worth risking their friendship and shit their whole lives have been built around each other and fuck he really will take this to his grave–

The post-gig high was almost more intense than the pre-gig nerves, when everything blurred together into one happy mess and it seemed like everything was wonderful and people actually cared about his music and knew the words and sang along and didn’t think he was just a big dork for his terrible dancing–

But even more than that, the green eyes that glowed even under the changing lights and the mouth that shaped around words that bared their souls to the world and the graceful fingers that turned dull white and black into a world of colours and the grin that was especially for him–

Scorpius loved his job, he truly did, and couldn’t imagine anything better. The music that itched under his skin found its outlet, and for a brief time, it felt like the world was his and not only the world, but also him–

“Al! You were great!” a voice somewhere in the hallway yelled.

“You think?”

“I know.”

Every high peaks, and then it’s crashing and burning and the world is not his friend any longer–

He Apparates back to the flat.

The next morning found Scorpius awake much earlier than he should be, packing up his stuff and getting ready for the months of travel they have ahead. Some bands liked to stay in their homes and Apparate every day to the gig, but Seeking for Ghosts had always been a more go-with-the-flow group. Touring should mean touring in every sense of the word, so see the world they would.

He staggered into the kitchen, still not fully awake, to find Al already sitting at the table and staring into the distance. He instantly knew what an early-morning-rising, deeply-reflective Al meant: he and Alex were no more.

Scorpius was torn between terrible, terrible selfish relief and sympathy as he waved his wand towards the coffee pot.

“Alright, Al?”

Al started, apparently surprised to find Scorpius in the kitchen with him. There was a page in front of him and Scorpius could see some handwritten words, which meant that at least this was a breakup that got the creative juices flowing. As much as there could be an upside to a breakup, the band benefitting was definitely one.

“Yeah,” the dark haired man sighed. “Alex and I broke up last night.”

“Sorry, bro.” Scorpius patted Al on the back as he sat across from his friend and summoned the coffee and some cups. Al watched as Scorpius poured out some coffee, sliding one cup across the table and cradling one for himself.

Scorpius took a moment to inspect Al, and was surprised to find him looking more reflective than sad.

“It’s not so bad,” Al shrugged. “It wasn’t too serious, and I was the one who broke it off, actually.”

“Really?” Scorpius took a cautious sip of the drink, wincing when it burned his tongue slightly. “Why?”

Al turned towards Scorpius, fixing him with a searching gaze. Scorpius stared back before flicking his eyes down to the page in front of Al, only to realize that it was the page he’d been using to write his song down the week before. Shit.

“I’ve always just figured that you’re, like, asexual and aromantic, you know?” Al said without preamble, and Scorpius’s eyes widened involuntarily. “It just doesn’t even seem to be on your radar. I’ve never seen you check anybody out, or ask anybody out, and you seem overwhelmed when people make moves on you...I mean there was Hannah Shepard in sixth year, but everyone did things they regret in sixth year.”

They made eye contact and shared a smile before chorusing, “Susanna Lowenthal.”

Al dropped his smile, but continued staring at Scorpius. “But then...sometimes I wondered. When we would be fucking around in the music room, and you’d start singing Adele, but it seemed like you were putting feeling into it? Or when we’re on stage, and sometimes we just connect, you know?”

Al raked a hand backwards through his hair and Scorpius followed the movement unconsciously, eyes resting on the early morning bedheadness adding to the normal insanity that resided there.

“Alex said that he thought you were in love with me. And I thought it was ridiculous, and then we got into a fight, and then I realized he wasn’t worth my time anyway...but when I went in the music room afterwards, I found this.”

He gestured to the page, the one that Scorpius had foolishly left beside his guitars, the one that Scorpius had finally braved writing down, the one he had stupidly, stupidly entitled “The One.”

“And it just seemed to have more weight as a theory.”

Al stopped talking, his green eyes still scanning Scorpius, but he was firmly staring into the brown, fathomless depths of his mug, trying desperately to think of an explanation–

“Scorpius, I’m in love with you.”

Scorpius looked up so quickly that his necked audibly cracked, but neither of them noticed. Green and grey mingled, and Al looked nervous, the edges of his mouth twitching down, his eyes crinkled at the edges, his hand tapping out a wordless, tuneless song against the wood.

“I think I have been for a while, but I just realized it last night, and now I’m kinda freaking out, especially because you’re just staring at me, and our whole dynamic could be really fucked–”

“I love you too.”

Al bit his lip, the edges twitching up, something sparking in his eye, his hand travelling once more through his hair.

“So, um, should we...like kiss now?” Al asked after they’d smiled stupidly at one another for a long moment.

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius took another sip of his coffee, stood up, circled the table, and leaned down, resting his forehead against Al’s. Up close, the swirls of green were dazzling, even more captivating than Scorpius had previously known, and his heart swelled with the pure essence of Al.

“I’ve waited a stupid amount of time for this,” Scorpius breathed, studying every inch of Al’s face and grinning.

Wordlessly, Al leaned forward, capturing Scorpius’s mouth somewhere between them, and Scorpius felt a new kind of music itching beneath his skin.